Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Paducah, KY

April 20, 2002Mississippi County, Missouri

NWS Paducah, KY issued this tornado warning at Apr 20, 2002, 4:14 PM CDT for Mississippi County, Missouri. It was in force for 31 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Apr 20, 2002, 4:14 PM CDT (21:14 UTC)
Expired
Apr 20, 2002, 4:45 PM CDT
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Paducah, KY
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Mississippi County, MO

The radar

The Paducah radar (KPAH), 48 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:16 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 20, 4:19 PM CDTHail 1Charleston, MO
Apr 20, 4:20 PM CDTTornado F1Charleston, MOThe tornado path extended from Interstate 57 on the east side of Charleston to about 1.8 miles southeast of Charleston. Peak wind speeds in the tornado were estimated at 100 MPH. An anchored mobile home was lifted and rolled, destroying it. The residents of th

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 9.2 hours before the alert went out and 241 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2002-04-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 179 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2002-04-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 58 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
179 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-82 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
994 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
58 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
85 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WFUS53 KPAH 202114
TORPAH
MOC133-202145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
413 PM CDT SAT APR 20 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PADUCAH HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  MISSISSIPPI COUNTY IN MISSOURI

* UNTIL 445 PM CDT

* AT 411 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 3 MILES WEST OF 
CHARLESTON...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE...
  OVER CHARLESTON AT 420 PM CDT
  2 MILES NORTH OF WYATT AT 430 PM CDT

SEEK SHELTER NOW

MOVE INTO A BASEMENT...OR INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A
STURDY BUILDING. ABANDON MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES.

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER OR ANY STORM DAMAGE TO YOUR LOCAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT...FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. STAY TUNED
FOR LATER STATEMENTS.

LAT...LON 3698 8936 3685 8948 3682 8919 3692 8914
          3701 8918

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Missouri, 2002Every tornado warning in 2002Tornadoes in 2002

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.